Time right for Terry Bailey Singapore move

Victoria’s chief steward Terry Bailey says the time is right to take up a new challenge with a move to Singapore.

It was announced on Monday that Bailey had resigned his position in Victoria to take up the chief steward’s role in Singapore vacated by Peter Chadwick who is moving to Queensland.

Bailey, who starts in Singapore on August 15, said he was approached to take on the role.

“When the offer came from Singapore you sometimes think to yourself that it may never be there again,” Bailey told RSN927.

“It feels right to leave on the right terms at the right time and head off to another challenge.”

Bailey has been a steward at Racing Victoria for 13 years, the past 10 as chief steward.

Over that time he has presided over some of Victoria’s biggest cases.

He said the most testing was the one involving jockey Danny Nikolic while other headline ones were the cobalt cases involving Danny O’Brien and Mark Kavanagh, the Damien Oliver betting scandal and the recent Aquanita affair.

Bailey views racing today as cleaner than when he took over 10 years ago but insists there is still work to be done.

He advocates tougher penalties, saying that where there’s money involved people will want to push the boundaries.

“When people get caught and get six months for needling horses on race day it’s not sufficient,” he said.

“There has to be a deterrent.”

Bailey said he would not have done anything differently and there was only one rule book.

“The ones that criticise are the ones that are being caught,” he said.

“The ones that played with a straight bat, there’s plenty of them out there, battlers, doing the right thing and if I gained their respect, that will do me.”